All spills are different, and it’s important to have a spill kit and a cleanup plan that lines up with the chemicals you’re working with before a spill occurs. However, there are some general guidelines that you can follow so that you know how to respond to future emergencies. Let’s review the best practices for cleaning up chemical spills in laboratories to help you stay alert, aware, and knowledgeable.
Evaluate the Spill
When a chemical spill occurs, you first need to evaluate the nature of the spill to determine if you need to call for a hazardous material response team. If a spill is large-scale, comprised of a highly dangerous chemical, or presents immediate hazards—such as chemical exposure, explosion, or fire—lab personnel should not handle it. However, if the spill doesn’t meet these criteria, and you feel that you and the lab personnel can confidently handle the spill, then you can do so.
Stay Calm and Communicate
If a situation occurs where you need to call emergency services, you need to stay calm and communicate effectively. First, avoid breathing in any vapors, safely identify the chemical if you can, turn off ignition sources, alert the area, and evacuate, closing all doors in the process. Even if you don’t need to call emergency services, you should still notify others in the immediate area and report the spill to a supervisor. Even if the spill is of relatively harmless material, it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Control, Contain, and Clean
First, you must control and contain the spill. Can the chemical seep through the floor below? If so, are there people that need to evacuate? Is the spill giving off fumes, and should I increase ventilation? Once you’ve handled and answered these questions, your next job is to wear the appropriate PPE and make a barrier around the spill with an absorbent material. Each laboratory should have a spill kit. Locate it, then review your lab’s Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), as different materials have varying cleanup procedures.
Dispose, Document, and Decontaminate
Proper chemical waste management is important, and this includes the disposal of chemicals and chemical waste. Improper disposal puts lab personnel and disposal services at risk. Your MSDS should also contain instructions regarding how to safely dispose of the material used to absorb and clean the spill. You should put waste in the proper hazardous waste bin, and anything used to clean up the spill should go in a trash bag or container separate from normal trash.
Once you’ve notified the appropriate administrator or supervisor, you should document the who, what, when, where, and why of what occurred. Fortunately, you can decontaminate most spills with regular cleaning products and supplies. However, if this isn’t a safe option, given the nature of the spill, you must contact professional lab decontamination services.
Knowing how to clean up laboratory chemical spills is the first step in keeping you, the staff, and potentially the environment safe. If you’re ever unsure of how to identify, handle, or clean a spill, don’t ever be afraid to ask for help. It could save lives.
Categories: Science Talk Stuff
